In the digital age, including smart phones, tablets, social networks, and wearable technology, humans have become accustomed to remote relationships. Mobile technology has made it such that people walk around with their eyes on a screen and interact increasingly via a digital world. People connect on a digital level, sometimes without ever meeting in real life. Phrases such as “friend request sent,” “Bill has invited you to connect” and “now following” etc. are commonly understood in the digital world as a means of establishing a relationship, whether it be professional, romantic, or social. But is this truly a relationship built between two people? Some would argue it is simply a connection maintained by cyberspace. In many cases, direct contact has been supplemented, to a certain degree, by socialization in the digital world.
The digital age has changed the relationship landscape. Friends can include a high school geometry partner or a long since spoken to childhood friend. Connections can be made with 3rd degree professionals. Followers can encompass people, groups, or causes that exist halfway across the globe. The existence of this non-living relationship is a defining characteristic of the digital world. While some personal connections are first made in the digital world, some people are digitally connected without having spoken in real life. Friendships, in a digital sense of the word, can persist for years without living world contact. Smart digital technology is supplementing, and often replacing, inter-personal skills, making it possible for relationships to exist in the digital world from conception.
Despite their differences, digital and living relationships share a key characteristic: both are founded on commonalities between people. This can mean a mutual friend, business partner or a similar interest or like. Online tools and other applications simply map out these commonalities between people. These applications are beneficial. They help make connections to grow business, spread news, foster relationships, and let people share. They do so by allowing people to manage their persona presented to strangers in the digital space. However, the potential for connection in real life is far greater. Research has shown that people are more inclined to start a conversation with a stranger if they know they have something to talk about. If a common topic of interest were provided, connectivity could increase dramatically.
The emerging 20-somethings generation include leaders of the Millennial force. As they age, the will begin to define the body of society. This marks a significant shift in the type of people that populate the world. The future generations use tablets as an extension of their hand and thrive in this world of connectivity. Social media fulfills a user's desire to quantify a number of likes, friends, comments, or connections. As a product of managing how friends, followers, or connections see them digitally, Millennials could find use for a way to control how people in their immediate surroundings see them in real-time. One point is that people inherently like to control their image. People demand choices such as how to dress or choosing a profile picture, but only because they are given those choices in the first place. People are drawn to tools that allow them to further design & define themselves, online and in real life.